Turning a Job Loss Into Early Retirement

By

Kelly Kearsely

July 11, 2013 9:18 a.m. ET

The woman called financial adviser Nancy Coutu in a panic.

Her 57-year-old husband had just lost his job as a system programmer. The couple had planned to retire in five years and was still $300,000 short of their retirement-savings goal. Now, they faced the prospect of having to close that gap without the husband's $80,000 annual salary and his 401(k) match. His pension also was reduced substantially to only $13,000 a year.